The Journal Entries screen is used to review journal entry lines and post new balanced manual journal entries.
What this screen is for
Use Journal Entries when finance needs to review ledger postings or create a manual accounting entry that does not belong in a more specific PAX workflow.
Use dedicated workflows first when the activity belongs to customer payments, vendor invoices, vendor payments, credit card expenses, bank reconciliation, depreciation posting, inventory movement, receiving, shipping, or production. Manual journal entries should be reserved for finance-approved adjustments.
Screen paths
- Dashboard > Finance > GL & Close > Journal Entries
- Dashboard > Finance > Reports > Journal Entries
Both paths open the same Journal Entries screen. This page is the canonical documentation for that shared screen.
Journal entry list
The screen opens to the journal entry list. The list shows journal entry lines, so a single journal entry appears once for each account line.
The list includes:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
Date |
Posted date for the journal entry. |
Reference |
Reference entered when the journal entry was posted. |
Account |
GL account number on the line. |
Description |
Account description. |
Project |
Project ID on the line, or - when no project is assigned. |
Debit |
Debit amount for the line, or -. |
Credit |
Credit amount for the line, or -. |
Created By |
User who created the journal entry. |
The default list shows the latest entries. Use the search box to search by reference, account, account description, amount, date, project, or created-by user.
New journal entry form
Select New Journal Entry to open the entry form.
The header fields are:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
Reference |
Required. Maximum 50 characters. |
Posted Date |
Required. Defaults to the current date. |
Each journal entry starts with two lines. Each line includes:
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
Account |
Required active GL account. |
Project |
Optional active project. Line 2 is automatically filled with the same project when a project is selected on line 1. |
Debit |
Debit amount for the line. |
Credit |
Credit amount for the line. |
Remove |
Available only after the entry has more than two lines. |
Use Add Line when the entry needs more than two accounts. The totals section shows total debits and total credits. The entry can be posted only when the totals balance.
The current screen supports posting new journal entries. It does not provide a user-facing edit action for existing posted entries.
What happens behind the scenes
Opening Journal Entries does not change records.
When the list loads, PAX reads journal entry headers, journal entry lines, account descriptions, project IDs, fiscal periods, and created-by users.
When Post Entry is selected, PAX validates:
- Reference and posted date are entered.
- Each line has an account.
- Each line has either a debit or credit amount.
- Total debits equal total credits.
- The posted date belongs to an open fiscal period.
If no fiscal period is selected by the system, PAX finds the open fiscal period that contains the posted date. If no open period exists for that date, posting is blocked.
After validation, PAX creates the journal entry header and line records. Lines can optionally carry a project ID for project reporting.
Troubleshooting
The entry will not post
Likely cause: The entry is missing a reference, missing a posted date, missing a line account, has a line with no amount, or total debits do not equal total credits.
Safe fix: Review every line and confirm the totals balance before selecting Post Entry.
Contact support if: The entry is complete and balanced but still fails.
PAX says no open fiscal period was found
Likely cause: The posted date is outside all open fiscal periods, or the related fiscal period has already been closed.
Safe fix: Confirm the posted date is correct. If the entry belongs in a closed period, follow the company's finance review process before changing the date or reopening anything.
Contact support if: The date should belong to an open period but PAX blocks the entry.
The same reference appears multiple times
Likely cause: The list shows journal entry lines, not one row per journal entry header.
Safe fix: Review the account, debit, credit, and project columns to see each line that belongs to the same reference.
Contact support if: Lines appear duplicated beyond the expected journal entry detail.